"4-Sided Dive: Wrong Distance Relationships" (4SDx13) is the thirteenth episode of 4-Sided Dive, discussing episodes of the third campaign up through "Faith or Famine" (3x60) with guests Laura Bailey, Ashley Johnson, Liam O'Brien, and Marisha Ray.
Synopsis[]
Even after a reroll from everyone, Ashley Johnson is the thirteenth Tavern Keeper.
What the fuck is up with that?[]
- In a very book club fashion, let's talk about the town of Hearthdell. First impressions from Marisha and Liam about landing on the continent of Issylra after The Apogee Solstice: it feels oppressive, sad and a bit creepy. The people from the Dawnfather's Temple are intense about what they're doing right now; however, the people of Hearthdell do not worship any gods, they're more woodsy, druidy, pagan vibes. From what they know and with the help of Dani, the Temple is fairly recent.
- Ashley asks who Team Issylra trusts from Hearthdell. Simple answer: no one. Matt subverted their expectations with a hippie and sage person that they met in a house of flowers but instead, it's a very hardcore person who wants to murder every priest in the Dawnfather's temple. Marisha thinks they did 'ok' with talking to Joan Abaddina.
- Ashley asks if Team Issylra thinks about Team Wildemount, cast members-wise. For Marisha, everyday. For Liam, he used to for the first couple of weeks but then he stopped.
- What are these Eidolons? Dani joins the group to remind them that the Eidolons are what Elder Abbadina was praying to, her spirits, wood spirits. Liam says it's like 'Princess Mononoke' style; Marisha says she can trust some neutral wood spirits, she doesn't get bad vibes from Eidolons.
- Marisha talks with Liam about Team Issylra not having time to interfere in the townsfolks' business. They just want to have a way to get out of there.
- New guests on the show! Laura and Ashley loved so much playing with Aabria Iyengar (Deanna Leimert) and Christian Navarro (F.R.I.D.A.). First time playing with Christian and it was fantastic and Aabria knows exactly Ashley's exact type of sense of humor that gives her the giggles. They're going to miss them at the table.
- Marisha feels like Utkarsh Ambudkar, Aimee Carrero and Emily Axford knocked their character descriptions out of the park when they came in and it really set the tone. Aimee describing Deni$e as a woman in a male-dominated field who will try to push their femininity to make sure that they still have that claim, like a lady cop with crazy acrylics. It's very specific. Emily for Prism is like the emo girl with runes tattooed on her arm instead of song lyrics. Utkarsh for Bor'Dor is a very cute man, walking around in a canvas sack that was once used for potatoes, like an unassuming hot boy.
- Aimee is too powerful. From her Narrative Telephone, Liam was feeling he was watching a Scorsese film.
- Marisha talked with Matt about Deni$e's relationship with Dariax and he said "Deni$e can do better than Dariax." Everyone agreed.
- The party is still split. Despite Liam's joke earlier, he really misses the others and he's looking forward to when they rejoin. Ashley, however, is actually doing okay.
- It's fun to have new people at the table, with different energy. Marisha says that the core eight of them are so in lockstep with each other and it's good for everyone involved to have a little shake-up. Laura thinks that they know each other so well that sometimes they can guess how somebody else is going to react to a situation.
- They discuss the arc wrap-up of Team Wildemount. Laura rolled very poorly in their final moment and the teleport spell backfired. They don't know where they are. Laura didn't want to say goodbye to the guest characters so they're still with them but it might be difficult to have 12 people around the table when the party is reunited. Marisha is worried from the production point of view.
- They talk about the goat performances from Matt. One of Ashley's favorite things that Matt has done on the show is the noise from Fresh Cut Grass's goat.
- Question from Dani: What's your favorite Matt sound effect? The fork wobbling on a table for Marisha, writing noise for Ashley, uncorking glass bottles for Liam, and the door opening noise for Laura.
- Liam and Marisha discuss what they're expecting in the Team Issylra arc. Being with new characters. Marisha was worried it was going to be sheer chaos and too much with these guests but it's not, at least, not yet. They're striking a balance with the guests; they want them to have fun.
- They ponder why certain people heard Ludinus Da'leth talking and some not, like in Uthodurn.
- Marisha and Liam discuss Keyleth seeing Vax during The Apogee Solstice. It was cool to see three of Liam's characters and three of Marisha's in one spot. Liam needs Keyleth to be okay somewhere and Ashley needs Beau to be okay; that's the real question here. Vax became an orb, too.
- Dani joins in. Ludinus specifically said he needed the Sliver of Divinity. If Vax is the Matron's champion, he could technically be the Sliver of Divinity. So, is that a key?
- Liam wants them to make a custom pinball game someday and have black metal balls. Everyone wants one at the studio.
Tower of Inquiry[]
- Quick! You have to create a new god for the game! What type of god are they, and what is their name? Liam would elevate Devexian and make a god of circuitry and code; Ashley thinks Fearne or Nana Mori should be a god of chaos, fun times and silliness; Marisha would pick the Ruby of the Sea as a goddess of burlesque, sensuality and drag queens; Laura would go for The Traveler, god of chaos.
- What is your favorite part of each of your characters? For Laura with Imogen: lightning titties and being a magic user; Marisha for Laudna: her unbridled optimism; Liam with Orym: his kind heart and his sword abilities; Ashley for Fearne: being a button pusher and her tail wiggle.
- Tell a small detail about your character that no one knows. For Fearne: her tail wagging under her dress. Orym's mom is a midwife in Zephrah and Derrig and Nel had three daughters in addition to Will—Nel is an herbalist and Maeve or Berenie works with her and the other is a full-blown druid from the Ashari, Leeta was one of the Tempest Blades. Laudna did have a brief friend before Imogen in Tal'Dorei before she made her way to Marquet in a form of a young girl who wasn't afraid of her. After practice, Imogen was able to put up a wall of blocking out people's thoughts unless it was completely overwhelming—if she got intoxicated or was excited in any way, the wall wouldn't hold up.
- If your character was a card in the Deck of Many Things, what would their card do? Orym would raise your character level two levels and turn your alignment to neutral good; Imogen would have the player roll a D20, and with anything above a 10 you get the ability to Detect Thoughts at will, anything below a 10 unleashes a storm that kills everybody around you; Laudna's would turn you into a marionette for an hour, and you can't do anything about it but still have your thoughts; Fearne's would let you steal things out of everyone's pockets all at once.
Deep Dive[]
- Liam: How is Orym handling what he saw at the solstice now that he's had a couple of days of putting one foot in front of the other? Not well. He feels like an abject failure. He feels like he has spent six years of his life trying to find himself again, and to make up for what happened six years ago with his husband, father and leader and this entire time, he has been lured into a bear trap set by Ludinus. Confused in the moment.
- Marisha: The gallows seemed like it was tailor-made to inspire Laudna for more nightmare fuel. Are you hoping to return there at some point or are the creepy town vibes enough for her at the moment? Laudna just went: "I'll store that one away with all the other trauma, too!" and just didn't say anything. In terms of nightmare fuel, Marisha doesn't know. She's seen worse, not too much there for nightmare fuel inspiration.
- Ashley: What was it like for Fearne to reach out to the Wildmother in the hopes of contacting Orym? Do you think the wind was a sign? Fearne is a little lost without Orym, he's her compass and an anchor. She only knows the Wildmother through Orym. It was a last ditch effort because she doesn't really know if she believes in the gods or not and what they do. It's complicated. For the wind, she just thought it was the wind and nothing else.
- Laura: How do you pick the thumbnail photos each week? What is the process like for that? During the photoshoot for the thumbnails, they get every possible scenario; for instance, in the one where Sam carries Marisha it's because FCG is a healer and Laudna is frail as f*ck. Laura runs the photoshoots and she does all the Photoshop retouching. For Campaign 2, she put all of the cast together via Photoshop to look like they were together but they were not in reality due to COVID restrictions.
- Liam: What does Orym think of the coincidence of traveling with Dariax's ex? Orym thinks it's too big a thing to be a coincidence. Also Orym is not a worshipper.
- Marisha: Laudna is doing a lot of compartmentalizing right now. What all is going through her mind and why is she afraid to let those emotions show? She's trying not to add her thoughts on the table because Orym and Ashton are not okay and having meltdowns. She's having a meltdown as well, wondering if her friends are alive or dead and if they have completely failed on every level.
- Ashley: How is Fearne feeling about Imogen and her lightning marks, as well as her dreams? Fearne waking up Imogen from her nightmare is the most scared we've ever seen her. That was complicated. Fearne knows that Imogen's dreams, in some ways, give us answers and also could give us a clue where her people are, if they're still alive. So curiosity but also terrified of putting her in that position because we could lose her. Fearne is terrified of the lightning marks also because we don't know what it means.
- Laura: What has it been like for Imogen to have her Sending spells fail? Just balls. It worked when they were close by so it's not a total waste of a spell slot. Especially now, when it's the most dire time to have a spell where you can communicate over long distances, and it's just failing her. The panic of not knowing if they're alive or not. Awful.
- Liam: What was it like to try to convince Flameguide Kiro to leave the town for Marquet? The usage of "That's unfortunate" as the ignition phrase seems to sum up Orym's feelings about the situation. He did not really think they were going to be able to get through this squeaky clean and convince them to walk away. He still had to try.
- Marisha: Laudna had a great line about their goal that everyone stop killing in the name of the gods, whether it be for or against. Do you think this sort of sums up Bells Hells' attitude towards the gods in general? Laudna is still confused. They don't have control and don't know sh*t even if they have seen examples. Laudna tries to not speak in absolutes or say things with assertion.
- Ashley: How was it getting to utilize Speak With Animals so much these past few episodes sessions? What is that spell like for Fearne? It's not a big deal for her because she would talk to things anyway, even if they don't respond.
- Laura: What does Imogen believe would happen if she chose to let go when pulled by the red light of Ruidus, as seen in her dreams? Is she tempted? In her dreams, yes, fully. When she's awake, less tempted because surrounded by friends.
Tower of Inquiry #2[]
- How did you come up with your character? What led to their design, both in game mechanics and aesthetics? Marisha had a nightmare of a spooky flower girl with no jaw and black eyes in old Victorian clothes; Laura had nightmares about storms and a tornado coming for her as if sentient. Also she has trouble with certain audio stimuli and it can get overwhelming and stressful if she hears a lot of people. Liam loves halflings and he wanted a backup character if Vax died, because it could help Keyleth in some ways. He kept the idea for C3 and made him someone who held onto kindness as much and long as he could, the opposite of Caleb. For Ashley, Swedish/Norwegian fairy tales were an inspiration, and Fearne is her version of a fucked up Disney princess/villain with no morality. She also drew inspiration from growing up with her mom, and from Joan Cusack in "Addams Family Values".
- The Bells Hells are throwing a surprise party for one of their friends. What aspect of party planning would your character handle? Laudna, the decoration plans; Imogen would be hanging the decorations; Orym would get 100 pies; FCG would bake the cake; Fearne would take care of the literal surprise, scaring and giving naughty gifts; Chetney would carve table setting statues; Dorian would do the music and Ashton would do the lights.
- When your character levels up (or making one) how do you decide whether to multi-class? Is it based on the character's story, roleplay, or just spur of the moment? It can go both ways, building your character around a certain class or letting your character guide you. Liam wanted Caleb to go as high as he could in Wizard stuff and for Vax, the story told him. For Laudna, the character informed the multi-class. It made sense for Fearne to go Rogue because she's stealing all the time.
MonsDRAWsity[]
- For Marisha: Talk to us about your Creator Clash experience!!! It was great. One of the top three experience of her life. She just wanted to go the five rounds and she did it and so great to have her besties supporting and yelling. Just a wholesome week-end. Would do it again.
- For Laura: What is Imogen most focused on right now? She watched her mother take part in the solstice and has been parted from Laudna for days. What is most pressing in her mind? Getting back to everything, home and Laudna.
- For Liam: Orym has developed a relationship with the Wildmother, having been blessed by her with the Crown Keepers and Seedling. How does he feel about all this anti-god talk when he was originally ecstatic that the "gods are watching"? He's super-biased because his dad and his husband were killed by someone who wants to destroy the gods. But he feels like one of the better gods has sort of looked in on him and tapped him in the right direction. He's getting echoes in the back of his mind.
Ashley grabs Moppo to romantically clean the feathers from the torn-apart pillow.
Quotations[]
Trivia[]
- As of this episode, Ashley Johnson was the most recurrent Tavern Keeper at three times.
References[]
Art: